Seeds
by Rotem Shahar
Summary: Where did Mulder’s sunflower seed habit come from?


Title: Seeds  
  
Author: Rotem Shahar  
  
Feedback: LaughsR@prodigy.net  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Category: V  
  
Keywords: Missing Scene  
  
Spoilers: The Blessing Way  
  
Summary: Where did Mulder's sunflower seed habit come from?  
  
Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are not mine, they belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and FOX. No infringement is intended and no money is being made by using these characters.  
  
Notes: This was written for the After_the_Fact Blessing Way challenge.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hello, son. I did not dare hope to see you so soon nor ever again hope to broker fate with a life to which I gave life." Mulder heard his father say.  
  
Mulder slowly opened his eyes as he looked at his father.  
  
"The lies I told you were a pox and poison to my soul and now you are here because of them. Lies I thought might bury forever a truth I could not live with. I stand here, ashamed of the choices I made so long ago, when you were just a boy. You are the memory, Fox. It lives in you. If you were to die now, the truth will die. And only the lies survive us," his father continued.  
  
"My sister? Is she here?" Mulder interjected.  
  
"No. The thing that would destroy me, the truth I felt you must never learn is the truth you will find if you are to go forward."  
  
William Mulder stepped away from his son and disappeared as Mulder looked up at the stars.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hey, Fox?" Thomas asked. "You okay?"  
  
"Huh? What?" Fox asked, turning to his friend.  
  
"I asked if you were okay. You kind of zoned out on us," his friend replied.  
  
"Sorry." Fox shrugged, taking a bite out of his lunch.  
  
He threw it down, not really hungry.  
  
"Fox, you have to eat something." Another friend told him.  
  
Fox looked at them for a few seconds and picked up his lunch and walked outside, throwing his lunch away on his way out.  
  
He walked to the elementary school. It wasn't far. The two schools were separated only by a playground.  
  
Fox looked at his watch. Samantha would be at recess right now. Just last week he came outside and tormented her while she played with her friends.  
  
He sighed as he turned around and walked to the far end of the courtyard, finding a tree to sit behind.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Thomas walked around the courtyard, trying to find Fox. He left the cafeteria a few minutes Fox had, but when he got outside, Fox was nowhere in sight. Thomas had checked the playground first, but didn't find him. Then he methodically searched every hiding spot he could think of outside, finally reaching the far end of the courtyard.  
  
Fox had been crying. Thomas could tell. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were red.  
  
For the past week Thomas and a few other friends had tried everything they could think of to cheer Fox up. Nothing had worked and they were all out of ideas.  
  
Fox's friendships weren't the only things suffering. His grades were dropping too. He had been a straight A student, but now he was lucky if he got a C. He just wasn't able to concentrate. He couldn't focus on anything, not his schoolwork, not his homework, not his friends. He'd turn the TV on but couldn't tell you what he'd been watching for the past three hours.  
  
His friends were all frustrated. They knew the loss of his sister was hard on Fox, and they knew that his parents didn't offer him the solace he needed or deserved, but they didn't know what to do about it.  
  
Thomas stood and watched Fox for a few moments, wondering what he could do to cheer him up. Thomas pulled a sunflower seed out of his pocket and popped it into his mouth. Cracking it open, he pulled the bag out of his pocket and put it under Fox's nose.  
  
"Go 'way Thomas." Fox mumbled as he pushed the seeds away. Thomas ignored Fox's request and sat down next to him, placing the sunflower seeds in front of Fox.  
  
Fox had never particularly liked sunflower seeds, but he took one, humoring his friend.  
  
"Fox, we're worried about you." Thomas told him. Fox shrugged, not knowing what to tell his friend.  
  
The bell rang, signifying the end of lunch.  
  
"See you in class Fox." Thomas stated as he got up and left, leaving the sunflower seeds with Fox.  
  
'What am I supposed to do with these?' Fox wondered, placing them in his backpack and walking to class.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Throughout the rest of the day Fox found himself digging into his bag, looking for sunflower seeds to munch on. He found that they helped him concentrate; his thoughts could focus on opening and eating the sunflower seed, and he could direct his attention to the teacher instead of thinking about Samantha.  
  
~*~*~  
  
School ended and he left school, taking a detour to the first grocery store to buy a few bags of sunflower seeds.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Mulder sat in the circle, the blanket draped over his shoulders. Albert Hosteen walked over and sat down across from him.  
  
"You must be careful now to end the ceremony properly. If you leave, you must not do any work, change clothes or bathe for four days," Albert told him.  
  
"That's really going to cut into my social life." Mulder joked.  
  
Everyone laughed.  
  
"The boys have a gift for you."  
  
The youngest boy walked up to Mulder and handed him a small pouch. Mulder opened it curiously and poured out sunflower seeds. He smiled in gratitude.  
  
"You asked for them during your worst fevers." Albert told him.  
  
~*~*~  
  
~*~*~  
  
The End. 


End file.
